This is an essential must have album from the '80's for your "spring collection." I have always loved the hamonies of Cindy and Kate, handfuls of honey in cups I must say and for all the craziness in all of us the "I-Am- really singing - Fred Schnider" I am sure I spelt his last name wrong.

The album starts with a full powered tune to get you in the mood - "Cosmic Thing" with Fred snarling about the "genuine faux pearl ring" he might get you if you shake your "Honey buns" Mid into the album we hear the radio friendly "Love Shack" and "Roam" and ends on a slower song "Follow Your Bliss" which is an instramental with Kate and bass player Sara Lee humming and awing.

A must have for die Hard B-52's fans. For those who love the power house Cindy tunes you'll love her singing in "Deadbeat Club" and "Love Shack." For the Kate fans you can follow her in "Bushfire" and " Junebug"

All the songs are great but my most favs are: "Deadbeat Club" "Topaz" and "Dry County"

So go grab this album and B-Happy! (stupid joke) :P

"Cosmic Thing" is The B-52s best known record, originally released in 1989, containing the hits "Love Shack", "Roam", "Channel Z", and "Deadbeat Club". I'm pretty sure "Bushfire" got some airplay back in the day too (at least here in Australia, anyway). It's colourful 1980s pop, and every track is fun and full of personality. I'm not in a B-52s mood all the time, but when I am, I can listen to the tracks on "Cosmic Thing" over and over. Being a kid in the late 1980s/early 1990s, the music of this album has a lot of memories for me attached to it (along with Phil Collins, John Farnham, etc) which helps too.

There's a lot more production and effects on this album than say, on the B-52s first, self-titled album, (which is more bare and minimal). It all adds to the catchiness and poppiness of the tracks, I think. There's a lot to like about this album. I love the harmonies between Kate and Cindy (the female vocalists) on "Deadbeat Club", "Roam" and especially on "Topaz", and their "go, go, go!" chant toward the end of "Junebug" is so energetic its infectious. Fred Schneider, the male vocalist, is a lot of fun as well, helping to make the famous "Love Shack" as catchy as it is. He's a character, he really is. The instruments are played pretty well, and their instrumental "Follow Your Bliss", though fairly simple, has just as much personality as any other of their songs.

A pretty good slice of 1980s pop music. A decent one for parties too.

Deadbeat Club is my favorite song. I was 27 when it was released.
I'm now 44 and it's still my all time favorite. What a fun song and video!

The music on this disc is worth at least 4 stars, but the "anti-piracy" features are preventing me from slurping this into iTunes.

I'm shocked there aren't more reviews of "Cosmic Thing," but I'm happy to see the CD get such rave reviews here. Yes, this is light fare - danceable, quirky and worry-free pop. The CD was one of a few released in 1989 that was a great ending to a lousy decade.

I was excited about buying "Cosmic Thing" when it was first released because: 1. It was on a compact disc and not an album (CDs were still in their infancy in '89), and 2. I really enjoyed the video for "Roam" on MTV (truth be told, I wasn't too crazy about "Love Shack," although I found that a cute novelty song). Once I listened to the entire CD, I loved it (and I still have my original copy all these years later - in great playing condition despite being played numerous times over the years).

I don't know about anyone else but it takes a lot for me to like an entire album/CD. For any consumer to be able to hit "Play" and just let the CD go until it stops is saying a lot for the musician. "Cosmic Thing" passed that test for me (as a 13 year-old in 1989 and today as a 30 year-old).

Besides liking "Roam," I like the far-out lyrics of "June Bug" and I agree with our star reviewer that "Dead Beat Club" was the slacker song before Beck's "Loser" (The B-52's beating Beck by half a decade, although "Dead Beat Club" didn't catch on nearly as much as "Loser!").

I agree with the previous reviewer in that you can't hate this album. There's really nothing to hate - it's not serious, it's just a collection of really good pop songs.

It's refreshing to be able to pop this in the CD player and just be lighthearted for about an hour. - Donna Di Giacomo

I was first introduced to "Cosmic Thing" when I was 10 (I'm 13 now), when my dad had me listen to the cassette tape he had of it. I instantly LOVED it, and "Cosmic" became the soundtrack to my summer. Great party CD, and the last track is great for chilling out. You can't hate this, no matter how hard you try.

Some of these reviewers crack me up, like the guy who thinks "Bushfire" is about partying near a campfire. What are you, 10 years old?

This is, IMHO, the best B-52's album. Everyone's heard "Love Shack" and "Roam", but the entire CD is chock-full o' good tracks. From the goofy songs like "Cosmic Thing" and "Junebug" to the beautiful "Topaz" and jazzy "Follow Your Bliss" not a single song disappoints. You'll soon notice yourself skipping "Love Shack" to get to the other stuff.

By the way, "Bush Fire" is one of the greatest sexual inuendo songs I've ever heard.

Buy this album. It's a must for everyone.

If you followed the B-52's throughout the early 80's you will remember real high energy pop songs, by the time the group released Cosmic Thing in 1989 they learned to combine high energy pop/rock with a little funkiness. Teaming up with Nile Rodgers and Don Was for this album brought us funky little gems like "Dry County," "Deadbeat Club," "Follow Your Bliss," and "Love Shack." The bass line in "Love Shack" drives the song. However, we still got those crazy high energy pop dance tunes like "June Bug," "Cosmic Thing," "Channel Z," and "Roam." You can't miss with this CD. I'm a huge B-52's fan and also love "Whammy," and "Bouncing Off Satellites." You may want to pick up the anthology, "Nude on the Moon." It includes 35 songs from The B-52's, including 7 singles from "Cosmic Thing."

Very bad cd---4 tracks do not play well at all. Very disapointed and will not order from them again!

This was it - the penultimate moment of sunshine in the alternative/college music canon. After this brief and shining moment of Rococo Happiness came the deluge of nihilism that we call "Grunge". "Cosmic Thing" is neither the greatest album the B-52's ever made, nor was it the best to appear in 1989. Yet few albums done by the B's or anybody else manage to stay so consistently enjoyable while covering such a diverse range of speed, melody or emotional composition.

It begins with a bang - almost literally. The title track (Schneider on lead, Pierson & Smith on back-up) is fast, loud and perfectly danceable - yet I've never heard it on the radio, nor seen it released on single. "Cosmic" is strangely joyous even as the lyrics seem to reprove ("Don't let it rest on the President's desk, rock the house!") us for not getting out on the dance floor of life.

"Deadbeat Club" (Pierson & Smith leading things) is a tongue-in-cheek ode to partygoers who compulsively seek a good time - skinny dipping, crashing parties or dancing in the rain, even as the tempo is relaxed.

"June Bug" is an effective surprise - about being carnal and free in a swamp. After dancing to this one, you may feel like you really need a long shower.

"Roam" and "Bushfire" pick up the turbo-charged pace of "Cosmic Thing". "Roam" is more danceable, but "Bushfire" has more surprises of the two, and is a better collaboration of Schneider, Pierson & Smith. "Bushfire" marks the high-tempo of the album, which is followed up by "Channel Z" and begins hint that the party is coming to an end. The subtle threats of "Cosmic Thing" are less subtle in "Z" with Schneider's manic cries against laser bombs, space junk, ozone holes and coming of 500-channel pay-TV.

The next song "Topaz" is not only the most enigmatic tune on the album, but perhaps one of the trickier tunes the B's have ever strung. It's not fast, nor slow - but instead very ethereal - as if the B's thought they'd try playing in Enya's backyard. They conjure up a world of glittering skyscrapers and playful dolphins, but conspicuously bereft of the campy and kitsch that is the B's stock and trade. (No rusted tin-roofs on those skyscrapers.) It's still a great song, a sort of goodbye to an era they new was coming to an end, along with best wishes that the new one would be much happier. It's definitely a bitter-sweet tune, mournful and hopeful, but mostly final and embodying an emotional coherence that threatens to overpower the rest of the album's jubilant happiness. I have split feelings about "Follow Your Bliss", the instrumental that brings the party to an end. Pierson and Smith's harmonization, 80's synth and a few pulpy guitar chords don't combine into a composition that is more than the sum of its parts, but then maybe that's the point. After all, if life were all about coherence and completion, we wouldn't need parties and party albums.

Flashback, 1989: Just when everybody seemed to think The B-52's would never recover from the loss of their guitarist Ricky, they go and release this blast of energizer-bunny music. "Cosmic Thing" went through the roof for the band, and deservedly so; it remains their finest album to date, with fabulous tunes throughout. Look out for their return in 2006, when they release their first all-new album (including Cindy) since "Cosmic Thing". I have a feeling they will make a big splash again like they did in 1989.

By the late 1980s the fate of the B-52s seemed uncertain. The band lost guitarist and founding member Ricky Wilson to AIDS and the band's most recent album "Bouncing off the Satellites" was unfocused at best. After a few years in the wilderness, the band teamed up with producers Nile Rodgers and Don Was, to make what would turn out to be their finest album since "Wild Planet", and one of the best pop albums off all-time.

Ricky Wilson was, in my opinion, a very underrated guitar player. He may not have been the most technically proficient guitar player off all-time, but his surfer-style was still really cool and he came up with a lot of undeniably catchy riffs and solos. With Wilson's death, the band's drummer, Keith Strickland took over guitar duties. Strickland's playing, while not as interesting as Wilson's, was still quite impressive and he made the switch from drums to guitar without a hitch.

"Cosmic Thing" sounds somewhat different from its predecessors. A lot of the elements that were prevalent on past albums are here--Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson's signature high-pitched singing, and Fred Schneider's flamboyant showmanship. But "Cosmic Planet" doesn't have the avant-garde new-wave sound of the self-titled album or Wild Planet. And it doesn't have the kitsch of the past albums. "Cosmic Thing" was more of a straight-ahead pop album. But that's not necessary a bad thing. The band still had it's lightheartedness intact and never sounded more focused.

Some of the band's best known songs are on this album--the slacker's anthem "Deadbeat Club," the huge hit "Love Shack," as well as "Roam" and "Channel Z." There isn't any filler on this album. All ten of the album's songs are all quite memorable. All of the songs have a good hook and grove. The CD has a nice flow and never lets up.

From the opening track "Cosmic Thing" to the closing instrumental "Follow Your Bliss" the entire album is a lot of fun. It's pure ear-candy. It's one of the most fun and enjoyable albums that I have had the pleasure to listen to. And it's not the kind of irrelevant mindless fun that most pop music is about--"Cosmic Thing" is an album that celebrates life.

So if your feeling low and want to forget about your crappy life, I highly recommend you put on this CD. It's like musical prozac.

Being a Southern f*g hag and party girl in my younger days, I can totally relate to this album. I will never forget or let go of this compilation of the silly and hopeful anthems of my youth. Bear in mind, you might not like this group if you're conservative! They're gay, environmentalist, human-rights oriented, i. e., ve-e-e-e-ry liberal :) Songs like Roam, Love Shack, and Junebug are happy-go-lucky songs to bounce up and do silly dances to, Deadbeat Club is deeply nostalgic, Topaz is chillingly futuristic and full of hope while hinting at environmentalism. Channel Z is a political rap in Fred's nasally twang over some of that unmistakable Keith guitar, outlining the extremely leftist ideals of the band sometimes with sarcasm, sometimes directly, but always silly. The album ends with a lazy instrumental that is as cozy as a lullaby.

The quirky, playful vocals of Fred Schneider are just one of the things that make this album great. Danceable, fun, sometimes insightful music and it's easy to like just about every song on this album. Favorites include "Junebug," and "Topaz," which I find conjures up beautiful images and has been my favorite track for years. All in all, it's just plain, good fun!

This album features the B-52's biggest hit ever,LOVE SHACK. The video is quite awesome also. The song was even heard in the 1991 Paramount film FRANKIE & JOHNNY. I even heard another hit,ROAM in one or two television commercials. The title track is cool so is DEADBEAT CLUB. Another hit is CHANNEL Z. The instrumental FOLLOW YOUR BLISS was probably inspired by Todd Rundgren's HELLO IT'S ME(they both sound almost identical). After this album,band member Kate Pierson would join R.E.M. recording ME IN HONEY on R.E.M.'s 1991 multi-platinum OUT OF TIME.

not bad for a belated "comeback". the bees hadn't yet sold their souls to the flintstones, so all was not yet lost. "roam" is still a pop masterpiece of the 80s, and maybe someday people will realize that and quit playing that infernal "loveshack" at weddings.

"Love Shack" is the one song from this album that you probably can name without any hesitation. That's because to this day it's overplayed -- how many flashback lunch hours, etc., belt out this tune daily? Too many, considering that there are other great B-52 tunes that are hardly obscure ("Roam" from this album, "Rock Lobster", "Planet Claire", and "Private Idaho" from previous ones) that could be played.

But I digress . . . that "Love Shack" is overplayed is hardly an indictment of this album. Though not groundbreaking or history-changing, this album definitely is a must-own. Why? Simply because of the fun factor! It's a delightfully fun album from start to finish.

"Love Shack", if you manage to avoid the iterations on the radio dulling its impact, is a contagious party tune, as is "Roam" (which I prefer just because it hasn't been played to death). Of the remaining album, I also really like "Deadbeat Club" (a slacker anthem), "Junebug", and "Bushfire" -- all very up-tempo, fun songs.

As a fan of the B-52s, I can't say they've ever put anything that wasn't good. This is probably their second-best album behind their self-titled effort. It's fun, breezy, and something any serious music fan should have in their collection as a result.

This album was the B-52's final masterpiece, considering thier follow-up GOOD STUFF wasn't exactly, well, good stuff. Every song on this CD is a classic and that's why COSMIC THING further put the Athens, GA. trio into the mainstream than WHAMMY did. Listening to this does not necessarily sound like the summer of '89(the time of this album's release). It could sound like the summer of '04 with it's shiney, happy, pop. No pun intended.

This is their best cd. Even though Ricky Wilson died before the making of this. Love Shack is a good fun upbeat song. Deadbeat Club is the main reason for buying this cd. You gotta love that song!

It is doubtful that any music reviewer with any merit could discount the importance that the B-52's had on the late 1980's music landscape. However, it is also important to note that their importance and relevance started in the late 1970's, but they were then an underground group out of Athens, Georgia and not the mainstream dance group they became with the release of "Cosmic Thing".

"Cosmic Thing", the album, is quite possibly PERFECT. Eschewing their previous self produced music, the B-52's took a chance on a cutting edge producer by the name of Don Was (now he is as well known in music circles as anyone could be). Was, formerly of the group: Was Not Was helped the 52's weave an album on a monumental scale!

There is, quite honestly, not a single song on this album that is not dynamite. The first released and first to rocket up the charts was "Channel Z". This was a song about the sad state of affairs in America, though its meaning was undoubtedly lost to most who just loved its awesome dance beat. Next released is questionable, since just about all the songs took over the top ten songs over the course of the year. "Love Shack", "Cosmic Thing", "Roam" (now ubiquitous as the theme for a brand of anti alergy medicine), "Deadbeat Club", "Bushfire", "June Bug" (as Cicadaes are known in the Southern U.S.), "Topaz", and "Follow your Bliss" were all hits at one point or another.

If you were a dance club owner in 1989, you were certainly playing the B-52's or you didn't have your finger on the pulse of America's youth.

Although the B-52's are far less relevant to today's youth, they are still out there entertaining millions and making sure that we all have something to dance to and about.

Absolutely an unbelievably fantastic album!

The B-52's began life as a self-described "tacky little dance band" out of 1970s Athens, Georgia--and they sounded like musical refugees from a Twilight Zone episode that Rod Serling thought better of. But the band touched a techno-nerve, and before too long they had a record deal and a cult single ("Rock Lobster") that actually made the charts. But for all their fame, The B-52's very glitchy sound never had much in the way of airplay, much less big-time sales... until the release of COSMIC THING.

COSMIC THING spawned two major singles. The first one to hit--and the one that remains most durable--is "Love Shack," a truly bizarre but extremely infectious mix of funky rhythm and catchy melody dominated by Fred Schneider's ultra-silly, ultra-clever pseudo-rap--the song was and is a tremendous amount of fun, and while it lacks the truly weird edge of earlier B-52's cuts it remains one of the best dance party cuts I've ever come across, something that will get you on your feet faster than you can say "Bang Bang." The second hit, "Roam," was more specifically pop--but pop with a B-52's twist: a covertly sexy lyric and Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson blasting out unexpected harmonies from beneath their dueling beehive hairdos.

But COSMIC THING has more to offer than just these two cuts: everything here is extremely well done. The downbeat "Dry Country" has a seductive swing to it; "Deadbeat Club" is super smooth; "Topaz" is a remarkable little thing, sweet and sour all at once; and the largely non-vocal "Follow Your Bliss" wraps up the set on an unexpected but effective note. Along the way we also have at least three cuts that are very, very distinctly B-52's and as far out as anything the band did in their earlier incarnation: the rapid fire "June Bug," "Bushfire," and "Channel Z"--all of them with jagged rhythms, collapsing vocals, weird musical settings, and harmonies that go from liquid to strident before you can say "knock a little louder!"

By and large, the B-52's does the sort of music where a little goes a long way, but here they hit a really neat balance between their earlier extremes and some really solid pop inflections. The result may not please every one who is addicted to their original, undiluted sound, but the result is an extremely playable set that can be repeated again and again without you beginning to feel like roadkill on the intergalactic highway: it's funky, funny, stylish, and it still has enough of an edge to let you know that this really is the B-52's.

Bang bang, on the door, baby. Strongly recommended if you want to line up just to get down. Let's go around the world. The trip begins with a kiss!

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Following the tragic loss of guitarist/composer/lyricist Ricky Wilson in October, 1985 shortly before the release of the B-52's fifth album "Bouncing Off the Satellites", it was not clear whether the surviving four members of the B-52's (sister Cindy Wilson, Kate Pierson, Keith Strickland and Fred Schneider) would ever perform or record another album together again. Thankfully, in 1988, they decided to record a sixth album entitled "Cosmic Thing", and it became their most successful album to date and established the B-52's as the world's best party band of all time. It was also the first album in which Keith played the guitar, having given up the drums in order to learn how to reproduce Ricky's signature sound. The very danceable and fun songs in "Cosmic Thing" include:

1. "Cosmic Thing" (5+ stars, sung by Cindy, Kate & Fred). A fast and lively song that encourages listeners to dance by shaking their cosmic thing. The song was used in the soundtrack of the 1988 sci-fi/comedy "Earth Girls Are Easy".
2. "Dry County" (5+ stars, sung by Cindy, Kate & Fred). A very danceable slower song about kicking back in summer, but not being able to get alcohol in some southern state counties where it's not legal.
3. "Deadbeat Club" (5+ stars, sung by Cindy, Kate & Fred). Another slower song, but very danceable that features beautiful harmonies between Cindy and Kate that praise the joys of slacking, dancing in torn sheets in the rain and going out to Allan's Bar in Athens, Georgia.
4. "Love Shack" (5++ stars, sung by Cindy, Kate & Fred). The B-52's most known song that is fast and lively. The song is an anthem for friends to get together, go out and have a good time dancing and partying.
5. "Junebug" (5+ stars, sung by Cindy, Kate & Fred). Not as well known as some of the B-52's other songs, "Junebug" is fast and lively and is about being out in the woods and making out with only the 'gators and crocodiles watching.

6. "Roam" (5++ stars, sung by Cindy & Kate only). Cindy & Kate's beautiful duet is one of the B-52's best known songs about love and passion.
7. "Bushfire" (5 stars, sung by Cindy, Kate & Fred). Fast & fun, "Bushfire" praises passion and the fun of partying around a fire.
8. "Channel Z" (5++ stars, sung by Cindy, Kate & Fred). Another fast and very danceable song, the lyrics are somewhat political about the various things that get reported on television news.
9. "Topaz" (5++ stars, sung by Cindy, Kate & Fred). A beautifully harmonic and poetic song that I have had the pleasure of hearing performed live. This is one my favorite B-52's songs of all time.
10. "Follow Your Bliss" (5 stars, instrumental). A very beautiful instrumental that is strong with guitar and piano.

Overall, I rate "Cosmic Thing" with a resounding 5 out of 5 stars. This is probably the best album that the B-52's ever recorded and is a tribute to the music of the 1980's before it was silenced with the introduction of grunge in the early 1990's. Many thanks go to Cindy, Kate, Fred and Keith for writing and performing such wonderful music.

This album is a great collection of upbeat songs that continues in the great B-52's tradition and defies the classification of The B-52's as a New Wave band. If you've heard Love Sahck and/or Roam and liked those songs you'll love this record. Until I bought this album I had always pegged the band as an extended version of the one-hit-wonder but they are anything but. I highly recommend this album.

This was the B-52's best selling album. "Love Shack" and "Roam" are great songs. "Deadbeat Club", "Bushfire", "Channel Z" and "Follow Your Bliss" are good songs. The rest of the songs are just okay, in my opinion. Long time fans of the group will probably get more out of the album than I did.

This is the one that put the B-52s over the top. It is great social music. And yes, I believe they buried with a lot of others when Nirvana came along. I know it well because I remember when "Good Stuff" came out, they almost went noticed. Also minus Cindy Wilson, the group wasn't strong enough to stand alone. Then, they were considered just a novelty act when they did a version of "The Flintstones" theme song. What a shame. Their music was fun and happy. Cosmic Thing represented fun without worrying responsibility. 'Deadbeat Club' was one of my favorites. Probably because it reminds me of better times. 'Loveshack', of course, is another crowd pleaser. You just want to get up and go crazy when hearing it. Among my other favorites are 'Channel Z' and 'Topaz' (Cindy and Kate really shine on that one). A great album with great memories. LOVESHACK BABY!!!

I've been listening to the B-52's since their first album came out, and this, by far, is my favorite. The combination of simple tunes, absurd lyrics and lilting harmonies makes this music you can listen to over and over again.

Ok, diehard fans, here's the straight stuff from another diehard fan. We're definitely missing Ricky's surf/twang guitar on this CD, but the B's pull it out anyway and this time, they actually hit a little mainstream.

You might consider commercial success and appeal to the more mainstream good, or bad. Personally, I hope these folks made lots of cash off of this release. They deserve it, for this work, yeah, but also to make up for the somewhat lukewarm receptions that some of their older releases experienced.

I like this CD less than the old B's stuff, but they haven't lost their old spirit and off-beat, nonsensical, non-sequitur, creative flair either. Ricky's twangy guitar is sorely missed, but the B's make up for it with techno synths in a way that only they could do.

Love Shack, the big single track, should get you movin' and shakin' in B-52's style, with Cindy railing on about a rusted roof and then Fred urging you to "c'mon and get your juke-box money." After all, his car is as big "as a whale," and you'll fit, no problem.

I like best, the first track, "Cosmic Thing." Simple, push push push shake shake shake rhythm that is bound to get your feet tapping, arms flailing, the whole bit. Even the "alien beings" are up there shaking their alien things!

Ok, other tracks worth mentioning are Junebug (who scares off the alligators and mosquitos) and Planet Z. I liked less the slower sing-alongers, like Roam, Bushfire and Deadbeat club, but that's just me.

Overall, this CD is just fun. Doesn't matter if you're listening to the music alone in your car, or with a billion other people. You can't help but feel part of the "Come on along!" spirit.

If you're a fan of the old B's, I recommend you go ahead and buy this one. They still got it, yeah. A little more tempered, bit more mainstream, but there is no mistaking that this CD is yet another marvelous work put together by a marvelous group.

As someone that loved them LONG before ANYONE knew who they were, I can honestly say that it was exciting to see the B-52's become a household name.

As far as "Cosmic Thing", it's a great CD, but I can't imagine that it's the favorite of old B-52's fans like myself. It's the B-52's, cleaned up and polished for mass consumption. I have no problem with this, just as long as they don't make a habit of it.

The best track on the CD, by far, is "Channel Z". It has all the energy they are famous for, "Bush Fire" is also a great tune with more of the B-52's classic style.

If nothing, this CD proves that I must have differing tastes from most people, because "Love Shack" is just an OK song, certainly not the one I would have picked to be as big as it's been.

This CD is a good one-- worth buying, for sure. If you buy this upbeat, entertaining music strongly based around vocals, you'll be very satisfied.

You got to pity the B-52s a little bit. They finally scored a smash breakthrough album featuring a fistful of hit singles in 1989, only to get buried two years later under the Nirvana avalanche that made their music seem trite and hokey by comparison. Enough time has passed since then, however, that we can now see "Cosmic Thing" for what it was, the best album from what was essentially a singles band.

The hit singles are all first rate, including radio (and MTV) staples "Roam," "Deadbeat Club," "Love Shack" and "Channel Z." They all feature the band's strengths, danceable beats, humorous lyrics and their unique brand of boy-girl vocalizing. True, these songs are so lightweight that they practically float off on their own, but its hard to deny their charm. The filler material that makes up the rest of the disc is adequate, without any real clunkers.

Overall, a period piece that ought to be on the playlist at any 80s nostalgia party.

Other than a couple of good songs and one GREAT one(Love Shack), the CD doesnt hold alot of interest, and I think in general, isnt a keeper.

Four years after guitarist Ricky Wilson died of AIDS, the surviving members of The B-52's, that wacky Athens, GA group released Cosmic Thing, which propelled them from the novelty echelons to the mainstream vanguard, if even for a brief shining moment.

Granted, there is nothing quirky like "Rock Lobster", "Quiche Lorraine", or "52 Girls", but the songs are still infectious fun, especially their breakthrough single "Love Shack", "Deadbeat Club", and the title track, which from the get-go is in party mode and tells those in the groove to "shake that cosmic thing".

The mid-paced "Dry County" contains sound advice for those in the dumps: "When the blues whomp you up on the side of the head/Throw'em to the floor and kick'em out the door". However, I live in such a county and I've yet to see their solution work.

Songs like "Deadbeat Club" and the rowdy "Love Shack" lets us know that they are hippies at heart, going for skinny dipping or just having a good old time. If they hosted and played at a party in full swing, that would convince me to get my nose out of the books and dance away. Of course, I may need Kate Pierson's personal help in getting rid of my jitters.

A wilderness motif is also present in songs like "Junebug", "Bushfire", and "Roam". "Roam" encourages the virtue of exploring new places, "breaking boundaries", both political and mental.

"Channel Z" and "Topaz", on the other hand demonstrate that their spacey side has not dimmed a bit. The former song projects an activist side of them, as they rail against "politicrits pushin' dope", waste dumps, toxic fog, and tax dollars funding CIA wars. The solution is: "Time to open your windows/Let in better weather".

"Topaz" and "Follow Your Bliss" are my favorite tunes here. The latter is a keyboard instrumental with repeated chords that switch to another set of repeated chords. It's just enchanting!

3/5 of this album was produced by Nile Rodgers of Like A Virgin fame, and the rest by Don Was of Was (Not Was) fame.

Cosmic Thing is their best album since their debut, enhanced by the rainbow spectrum motif on the album cover. One of the last great albums produced in the closing year of the 1980's.

The B-52's were formed in 1979, coming out of the New Wave movement. They were one of many novelty bands that came up with a gimick to set them apart. Other gimick bands were Devo, Adam Ant, Flock of Seagulls, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, etc.

The B-52's gimick was beehive hair-dos, retro clothes, and a sound that was a mixture of 50's rock, disco, electronica, new wave and space yodeling that was all wrapped up into short, fun danceable tunes. The style of music was fairly limiting and the group could only put out a new album every three years.

This the B-52's fifth album, released in 1989. The sound had evolved over the years. They lost the edge of the earlier recordings. The songs are more melodic and longer.

There are some excellent songs on this album. Love Shack was one of the best songs of 89 and a fantastic dance number. Channel Z goes back to the groups roots. But some songs, like Roam, are just plain boring pop.

While the B-52's are mostly a novelty act, and this isn't an important album, it still is a lot of fun.

I LOVE The B-52's since 1986, and this album is, without a doubt, one of the best records I have in my collection(443 cds, from jazz to rock). It's a non-stop joyride. After all, they're THE B-52's!!!